AG Formella and Rep. Griffin:Resign or Resolve, two weeks to decide

[dsumneri...@gmail.com]

Posted by Deborah Sumner. Note added: April 24, 2022. No response, but AG Formella and Rep. Griffin can still choose to resolve this. I still expect them to hold Mr. Fitch and Mr. Scanlan accountable to the people of NH. If enough of us show we expect accountability for state election officials and our elections, we will have it. 

HB 1567 is not the answer.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/results.aspx?adv=2&txtbillno=HB1567

And since I didn't hear otherwise, we can believe that the Windham "finding of the attorney general" was written by current assistant SoS Fitch who helped Scanlan write the amended RSA 659:77 in 2010.

WHERE are the legislative checks and balances in place to hold the SoS and AG accountable? Where are the attorney general checks and balances to hold the secretary of state accountable? 

I haven't seen any in my experience since 2010.

March 28, 2022 (by email and sent regular mail)

Dear Attorney General Formella and Rep. Barbara Griffin,

Both of you have received enough communications from me that SHOULD have prompted you to ask Bud Fitch and David Scanlan to resign from their positions of public trust.

I expect legislative ethics guidelines re: principles of public service are similar for attorneys and public servants in the executive branch.

Instead of resolving two problems and show you would lead positive change, you chose to try and pass HB 1567 to continue the pattern and practice of enabling and protecting these two individuals (and political insiders allied with them) and what I outlined in the Oct.4, 2020 communication to Assistant AG Nicholas Chong Chen et al (enclosed).

Looked like criminal intent then and it now looks like the two of you are complicit in an attempted cover-up re: overvoted ballots that occurred in Windham (and other locations, including Derry).

Legislative committees, local election officials and the public SHOULD be ably to rely on what individuals in the Secretary of State and Attorney Generals’ offices say. 

We will not have elections we have reason to trust until we start telling the truth about computerized voting’s vulnerabilities and put solid internal controls in place to protect against them.

Three possible options for you to help move NH toward an election system we all have reason to trust and be proud of.

1. Ask Bud Fitch and David Scanlan to resign, correct the Attorney General’s 2016 error re: the Derry moderator AND stop passage of HB 1567 in the Senate. Be ready to follow through on legal and constitutional remedies if Fitch and Scanlan choose NOT to resign. (See excerpt from my March 13 communication to you below.) 

2. Pass legislation for a truth and reconciliation process, so individuals involved in past malfeasance won’t be criminally charged, but will be expected to leave positions of public trust. 

3. Announce by April 11 that you will resign from your positions of public trust.

Let me know if you have a better idea.

If I hear nothing from you by April 11 I will pursue other options in calling for your resignations or removal from office.

People who know or should know they have violated their oath of office, the NH Constitution, state and federal laws, and your professional and legislative conduct guidelines should not be in positions of public trust. Others should be able to rely on your knowledge, integrity and leadership.

NH deserves better.

Sincerely,

Deborah Sumner

474A Great Rd.

Jaffrey, NH 03452

603-532-8010

PS It appears that the Jan. 7, 2022 “finding of the attorney general” re: Windham was written by now Assistant Secretary of State Bud Fitch. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Excerpt from March 13, 2022 communication:

I lost trust in our election system in 2010 because of actions by the secretary of state and the failure of the attorney general to define the line he should not cross. I have been trying for 12 years to regain that lost trust, but I can’t do it without your help.

The three of us should have a shared interest in elections we all have reason to trust and be proud of. Working together, we can achieve it.

If either of you do NOT want that, I ask you to resign from your positions now so people who do can replace you. I don’t have the option of resigning from my government.

If you are willing to help me begin to regain my badly damaged trust, here are two things you can do.

1. Correct the Attorney General’s 2016 error re: the Derry moderator

2. Do not make the mistake of trying to pass the amended version of HB 1567

Here are my best ideas of how to do that and I’d be glad to talk with you further.

1. I have provided evidence to the AG that the Secretary of State violated at least two laws, RSA 641:31 and RSA 666:3, both misdemeanors. Without acknowledging any state fault, Mr. Formella could use the restorative justice remedy option available under Chapter 21-M: 8-k and work out the specifics of an agreement with Mary Till.

Amend RSA 659:77 to make due process rights re: alleged law violations consistent with guidelines the AG uses for other alleged violations of law.

2. Rep. Griffin could ask to withdraw the amendment to HB 1567 or say she now realizes it was a mistake and urge lawmakers to vote against it….

Excerpt from Oct. 4, 2020 (rest of communication available on request)

Deborah Sumner 

Re: David Scanlan and Bud Fitch, continuing misleading, of local election officials this time.

To: "ChongYen, Nicholas" <Nicholas...@doj.nh.gov>, Gordon.M...@doj.nh.gov, "Edwards, Anne M." <Anne.E...@doj.nh.gov>, Jane....@doj.nh.gov, "Tracy, Richard" <Richar...@doj.nh.gov> 

Cc: Gerhard Bedding , barbara Glassman  David Cote <david...@leg.state.nh.us>, Melanie Levesque <Melanie....@leg.state.nh.us>, barbara...@leg.state.nh.us, Regina Birdsell <regina....@leg.state.nh.us>, "" wchr...@Shaheengordon.com Jeanne....@leg.state.nh.us

Let the record show:

1. Mr. Chong Yen has not acknowledged receipt of the previous communications, copied below. 

2. My knowledge of the pattern of criminal intent involving individuals in the NH SoS and AG offices begins in 2003, when instead of codifying this provision of HAVA law, they and legislative allies violated legislative rules and code of ethics to exempt ballots from public records.

3. Before the November 2010 election, an individual in the SoS office interfered with the Jaffrey moderator’s decision to verify (by hand counting) the computer count of one of the two federal races on the ballot. The moderator has previously sought AG advice and knew he could do this, yet this AG individual did not stop the SoS individual from interfering in the Jaffrey election.

Reports of law violation to the Attorney General after the November 2010 election were ignored. Those violations involved the Secretary of State’s office.

4. When November 2010 ballots from Jaffrey were reportedly illegally destroyed before the court could decide whether to give me access, the AG ONLY issued a cease and desist order to prevent the Jaffrey town clerk from repeating that action. He did NOT investigate to determine WHEN those ballots were destroyed or whether someone had advised her to destroy them.

The AG individual heading that investigating also represented the State in my appeal of the first court case to the NH Supreme court.

5. In my second attempt to review Jaffrey ballots after the November 2012 election, the same AG individual represented the state, arguing against access. The lower court gave its opinion based on provably false claims by the SoS and AG and the Supreme Court did not correct the error.

6. I discovered a “material fact” that would probably have changed the outome of the case after the court’s March 2016 opinion and reported it to the AG in November 2017. He took no action against the SoS individual who KNEW the state’s main argument was false.

7. In October 2016, the AG and SoS took illegal and unconstitutional action against a town moderator, thus “forbidding” local election officials to fulfill their constitutional duty to voters to ensure a legitimate count.

Legislative leaders took no action on a request from citizens to independently investigate the SoS and AG action.

8. The violation of federal law was reported to the NH AG in Sept. 2017. His non-action gave permission for individuals with the right connections and opportunity to continue cheating in NH elections.

9. In January 2018, two individuals in the SoS office collaborated to misinform a legislative committee about NH’s compliance with federal law. House leadership of a particular party also opposed HB 1486.

10. Beginning May 2018 through today, the USDOJ has taken no action on the reported federal law violation, thus giving these same individuals permission to continue cheating.

11. On Oct. 18, 2019, Governor Sununu gave his written permission for those individuals to continue violating the federal law requirement and cheat in NH elections.

12. On November 20, 2019, the NH AG gave his written permission for those individuals to cheat.

13. One particular September 2020 contest shows evidence that cheating MAY have occurred and votes from thousands of NH voters stolen. There may be others I’m not aware of yet.  Because of the pattern of criminal intent shown by individuals in the AG and SoS offices, an outside, investigation would be needed to determine whether this cheating did or did not occur.

14. I will forward this thread to legislative leaders for their review and ask them WHO should investigate the September 2020 contest and to initiate a truth and reconciliation process that would 1) remove criminal penalties from those involved in what appears to be criminal conduct 2) let the public hear the truth of our NH elections so we can help prevent this kind of treasonous conduct from re-occurring in the future.

15. The next communication will be with House and Senate ELC chairs to see how we can return NH elections to the “rule of law” consistent with our constitution and vision of our ancestors.

Respectfully,

Deborah Sumner

PS At least 13 of my NH ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War from NH. My dad, born and raised in NH, and the source of my deep roots here, was a doctor in WW II.